An Oliver Carol
by Born Into Flame
Summary: Christmas is a time for making new memories. Beck is stuck reminiscing. This is a part of BadePrompts' gift exchange, and this piece is for Kyla (OnlyHurtInside)!


Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

Author's Note: This is a part of Bade Prompts' gift exchange, and was written for OnlyHurtInside, whose prompts were "Jade leaving Beck/Beck hating himself for not opening the door". Kyla, I hope you like it! (And I hope you aren't bothered by the AU-ness.) :)

Beck slowly closed the door to his apartment behind him, knowing that it was late and that his neighbors would probably file yet another complaint against him for "disturbing the peace" if he was to do as he desired and release all of his frustrations on the door. He started to remove his gloves, but then decided against it as the cold air of the apartment hit him in the face; it was just as cold inside the foyer as it had been outside on NYC's streets. Beck groaned and wearily slid a hand down his face. Hurricane Sandy had hit a while back, but its effects lingered; no one in either Beck's apartment building or the surrounding apartment buildings had any idea when they would get power back.

As soon as Beck took a step further into the foyer, he heard a child's shriek.

"Daddy's home! Uncle Andre, daddy's home!" A blur of pin-straight black hair and pale skin quickly ran to Beck, who was more than happy to take his little girl in his arms and spin her as she squealed. Honestly, seeing his daughter's gap-toothed grin was one of the only things that could really make Beck smile; he was lucky that his daughter had, both he and his wife had always agreed, a personality that somehow managed to be even brighter than Cat's had been back in high school. Her happiness was usually easily able to pull Beck back to reality in those dark moments when depression overwhelmed him. Beck was pulled out of his thoughts as his daughter gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Did you have fun with Uncle Andre?"

"Yep! He was teaching me Christmas songs...oh, and he helped me make a Christmas card!"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, I can show you!" His daughter quickly began kicking, letting her father know that she wanted to be put down. As soon as Beck set her down, she took off, nearly colliding with Andre as he entered the foyer.

"Sorry, Uncle Andre!" Beck chuckled, then gave proceeded to man-hug Andre as he was slapped on the back.

"Thanks for watching her."

"Don't worry about it, you know me and Tori are always willing to help out." Beck nodded, but couldn't keep his eyes from gravitating towards an old family portrait hanging on the wall. Andre, noticing where Beck's eyes where, frowned.

"It...it doesn't get easier, does it?" Beck shook his head, then sighed.

"You should probably head home; we both know how worried Tori gets."

"Can't blame her. We've all been pretty scared since..."

"...I know. Stay warm!" His friend nodded then shut the door behind him, tossing a, "Merry Christmas!" over his shoulder as he left. His daughter soon came bouncing back into the foyer, carrying a folded sheet of paper that seemed to almost surpass her in size. Beck gingerly took the giant card in his hand and had to smile; as usual, his daughter's talent and youthful passion were splayed all over the page. He and his wife had been more than a bit disappointed when they saw that their daughter didn't seem to take an interest in either music or performance art, but Jade in particular had been overjoyed when she realized her daughter's artistic ability. She was a six-year-old girl, but when she sketched, she sketched with painstaking detail and incredible precision.

The picture seemed to be unfinished, but Beck could tell it was of a lady sitting in front of a Christmas tree, with what looked like a dove in her hands.

"I still have to draw her wings, and her eyes and stuff."

"She's supposed to be an angel?"

"Not just _an_ angel..." She gave him a wide smile as she took her card back into her arms and walked purposefully to her room.

"...I'm drawing _our_ angel. It's supposed to be mommy."

* * *

Beck couldn't sleep. He tried to rationalize that it was due to an overdose of holiday spirit, seeing as it was Christmas Eve. But, he knew that that was a poor excuse; besides, he hadn't properly enjoyed much since his wife's death a little over a year ago.

So, he tried to pin his insomnia on the fact that he was freezing. Considering the lack of power and heat, Beck knew it wouldn't be safe to let his tiny daughter sleep alone. She was currently cradled safely in his arms, wearing several sweaters, socks, her winter hat, mittens...basically, anything and everything Beck could find in the house to keep her bite-sized appendages from freezing off. And just to reassure himself that she would stay warm, he had wrapped a blanket tightly around her to keep her encased in her own little cocoon. She was sleeping soundly, and Beck was glad that he was able to keep her warm. But, he had no idea what to do about his own hands; he was wearing two pairs of gloves, but he could still feel the chill air on his knuckles.

Beck tried to distract himself from the cold by listening to his daughter's light snores. She really was a little miracle. After marriage he and Jade had wanted, as many couples eventually do, to build a family together. Though they were participating in..."after-hour activities" quite often, they were surprised to find that Jade was simply not getting pregnant. Several months and overly-cheerful doctors later, they found out that one of them was unable to conceive. ...they didn't bother to ask which one of them had the fertility problem as it didn't matter; they had promised to stand by each other in sickness and in health. There was no point in assigning blame.

Yes, they had spent an immeasurable amount of time in mourning; they felt that the doctors had assigned grave markers and positions in the cemetery to each of the children they had been planning to have. This dark period promptly ended when Jade pulled both herself and her husband back into reality in her ever so charming way. Quite a bit of yelling and scissoring was involved, but her point was made; biology be damned, Jade and Beck Oliver were going to have a child...and they were going to be the best parents ever.

A year passed, papers were filed, documents were signed, a nursery was painted, a crib was built, and they were finally able to bring their baby girl home. Xia Oliver was a beautiful Chinese girl, with soft black hair that bested her father's and a fair complexion that rivaled her mother's. All of their friends, and Beck himself, had all been surprised by how eagerly and immediately Jade had taken to being a mother. Her personality had definitely undergone a significant change after bringing Xia home. She had still retained her cutting bluntness...but even her sharp, sarcastic remarks had become noticeably softer. Beck knew that Jade wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but she loved holding her baby in her arms and lulling her to sleep with lullabies. Jade loved fussing over her daughter, but she had assumed the role of the relaxed parent. Beck, on the other hand, entered a state quite common to first-time fathers; he became incredibly over-protective. He had always been deeply concerned about his daughter's safety and health...and he was well-aware that his protectiveness over his daughter would probably be prevalent long after she had grown up and was ready to start a family herself.

Their first few years with Xia had been very happy. Of course, there had been arguments, but what was to be expected? After a long-lasting break-up in high school, Beck and Jade's bickering had basically turned from a yearly Hunger Games into a frequent sporting event, the result being that both parties became much less likely to leave permanent scars on the other. But unfortunately, when a pot is set to boil, scum will rise to the surface. Their long period of playful taunting was not meant to last.

After a wave of financial troubles had hit Beck's side of the family, his parents had come to stay in the apartment with him. His mother had been overjoyed to see her daughter-in-law again, and finally meet her grandchild. His father, on the other hand, had not been so thrilled. Years had passed since the incident with the dog, but Beck's father still did not approve of Jade. Beck had never hesitated to point out to him that Jade had never been unfaithful or sinned (her ganky escapades in high school did NOT count), but there was nothing he could do to convince his father that she wasn't a demonic tramp. More irritating still was the fact that he didn't approve of Xia; he didn't agree with adoption, claiming that "real families" were built on blood ties. And his father made it quite clear what he thought of Beck's wife and daughter within a few hours of stepping into the apartment; seeing the tiny tears on his daughter's face as she asked her mother why her grandfather kept calling her a "thing" was all the incentive Beck needed to grab his father and take him someplace far from the women of his household for a talk. He made it quite clear to his father that if he did not give his respect to Jade or Xia, he was more than welcome to take his bags and leave. His father listened, pondered, and promised to be kinder. He and Beck shook on it, which caused Beck to calm down immensely. After all, his father had always been a man of his word.

A few weeks passed, and Beck was pleased with his father's change in attitude. He was now behaving as a normal grandfather would towards Xia, and Xia was more than happy to have her grandparents around to play with. And then a true miracle occurred; he apologized to Jade one night while the family was having dinner. The apology was music to Beck's ears, seeing as he knew that Jade was going to be spending a lot more time at home with his parents. The theater production she had been in had ended, and the director of her first movie had called asking if she was interested in writing a sequel. Beck knew that she would stay at home while she wrote, so he was content that she would get along with his father.

Things moved along peacefully...until one night Jade locked herself and Beck into their bedroom and demanded that he do something about his father. Beck was confused, and Jade looked ready to rip her hair out.

"He always acts so _innocent_ whenever you're home! And he's an angel while he's with Xia! But as soon as she's out of earshot, he'll come and say whatever the hell he feels like! Do you know what he told me today? He told me that while he was happy that I didn't release any _devil spawn_ into this world, Xia would never _really_ be my daughter, and he would certainly never accept her as his grandchild! And then..." Jade kept screaming. Beck was shocked; he really couldn't believe what his wife was saying. His father had made him a promise, and he had never broken a promise before. He tried to calm Jade down and assure her that she was probably exaggerating. At which point, she stopped ranting and gave him a cold look.

"Exaggerating?! You wouldn't say I was exaggerating if you had been the-" She finally took in the expression on Beck's face.

"...you think I'm lying?"

"Jade, I-"

"You don't believe a word I'm saying, do you?"

"Of course not, Jade, this is my father you're talking about!"

"So? You know he doesn't like me or Xia!"

"He's been doing great with Xia!"

"What does that matter if he is going to say terrible things about her when she's not around?"

"I'm sure he didn't say anything!" Jade starred at him, grabbed her coat, and stormed out.

"My own husband thinks I'm a liar." She returned home a few hours later, but refused to make eye contact with Beck. She bathed and came to bed later, but slept with her back to her husband. He tried to hold her when he felt her shivering in the night, but she clawed at him. She ignored him in the morning, and wouldn't acknowledge him when he left for work.

This silent treatment kept up for a while. When they both reached the privacy of their bedroom at night, Jade's lip would twitch to tell him something, but she would restrain herself, and then busy herself with ignoring her husband. Beck, desperate to hear his wife's voice again, shook her one night and begged her to talk to him. She turned to him and scowled.

"Are you going to believe me this time?" Beck winced.

"...I'll listen. I can promise you that." Jade narrowed her eyes, then sighed. She began to tell him again about the things that his father had been supposedly telling her while he was out of the house. When she was done, she didn't bother to ask Beck if he believed her; she could tell by the look on his face that he was not convinced. She turned back around and resumed the silent treatment. The next evening after coming home, Beck took his father out for a talk; he felt he owed his wife that much. He told his father about Jade's complaints, and he denied everything. Which left Beck with a dilemma: who to believe, the hand that raised and taught him or the hand that could calm him and his child with a touch? Beck never had to choose, though. Jade eventually gave up on ignoring him, and she didn't breathe a word about his father to him. Life returned to normal.

...until the night Beck returned home to find that the apartment was surprisingly void of the usual chatter, with the exception of the Beatles songs that he could hear being blasted from his daughter's bedroom. It was roughly two weeks before Christmas, and Beck's parents had been staying in the apartment for three or four months. Beck, wondering why he wasn't hearing his daughter's laughter or his father's deep voice stepped into the living room to see Jade sitting alone on the couch with her head buried in her hands. Beck hesitantly took off his coat and stepped towards his wife; he could feel the tense air in the room.

"Baby...where is everyone?" Jade spoke with her head still in her hands.

"Xia and your mom are in her room. She was upset; I asked your mom if she would please distract her." Something about his wife's tone immediately caused Beck's eyes to narrow. It wasn't intentional...but it was like someone had set off the sirens; a bloodwar was imminent.

"...distract her from what, exactly? Why is she upset?" Jade got off the couch and tried to flee to the kitchen, but Beck grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Why is she upset, Jade?" Her back still to Beck, she bit out an answer.

"I kicked your father out."

"What?!"

"Your mom tried to go after him, but I wouldn't let her. I couldn't, she'd die from the cold." Beck's nails dug more tightly into his wife's arm.

"What do you mean you kicke-" Beck forced Jade to turn around and answer him. It was then that he saw the tears on her cheeks.

"Barren."

"What?"

"He told me I was barren." Jade grabbed at Beck's shirt, pulling him so he had nowhere to look but into her eyes.

"_Barren_. ...'You little maggot', he said. 'You know I've thought you were a bitch ever since that first day my son brought you home. But you know what _really_ disgusts me? There's no greater joy for a man than holding his newborn child in his arms. You can't give him that joy. ..YOU CAN'T EVEN GIVE HIM THAT JOY!'" Jade's tone had gone from a fashion meant to imitate his father's to hysteria as she sobbed.

"Your dad just had _so. much. to tell me. _'Because of you, he'll never be a father. You know that it's your fault. So you tried to compensate with some jackass you probably found off the street.' ...he called my baby a jackass, Beck. And Beck...she heard! Xia heard him! She ran to her room crying...oh, wait, there's more! There's more! 'You're barren; you're a disgrace...so bitter and tainted you can't even have a child!'" At this point, Jade had released Beck and was pacing around the living room. At one point she stopped, choosing instead to stare at the wall.

"...you've heard me complain to you about your dad a lot, Beck. Haven't you ever wondered why I haven't said anything to him? Why I haven't put him into a hospital? ...I'll be honest, your dad scares the absolute shit out of me. But today...today, it wasn't just about him insulting me. He insulted my child, Beck. You know I won't stand for that. I slapped him. I may have punched him. I dragged his sorry ass out of our house." Beck stood, dumbfounded by his wife's state. He really wasn't sure what to say to avoid upsetting her, but his next few words were not the best choice.

"Baby, you shouldn't have-"

"I SHOULDN'T HAVE?!" Jade starred at him, her breathing heavy and her eye nearly twitching. But soon, her rage dissolved and she just crumpled, her arms slowly wrapping around herself. She began to cry again, and quickly ran and grabbed her coat off the arm of the chair it was draped over. She made her way into the foyer. Beck grabbed her shoulder to stop her while she had her hand at the door. Her voice kept cracking.

"Beck, I get it, it's okay. Your dad's right, and you have every right to hate me. But you can't hate Xia. She's as much yours as she is mine."

"Jade-" The front door slammed.

"...come back." Beck stood with his hand at the handle. He had backed away, then crumpled against the wall, running a hand through his hair. ...he had broken his wife. One side of him advised that it would probably be best to wait until she returned before comforting her so that she'd have time to calm down. But the other side reminded him that he had made the mistake of not opening a door to her once, and that had resulted in a painful breakup. Beck quickly ran out the door and down the stairs at the end of the hall, desperately hoping that he'd be able to catch his wife. But he didn't find her on the stairwell, and when he finally got outside, he didn't see her on either side of the street. After a few seconds, he decided to make his way to Central Park; Jade usually went there when she needed to think.

He had barely run a block when he suddenly heard a loud bang from up ahead...There were very few people in New York who didn't know what a gunshot sounded like. He felt his heart clench, and ran faster, eventually stopping a few streets later to find a large crowd of people surrounding a convenience store. Snow had been falling, but Beck knew the cold wasn't responsible for the incredible chill he felt. He quickly pushed his way into the center of the crowd, where he saw his wife laying on the ground, her blue eyes open and blood staining her abdomen and neck. He cradled her in his arms, begging her to say something, say anything. While the bystanders called for an ambulance, an old lady in an apron, the owner of the store, explained to Beck what had happened. A man had come inside with a gun to break into the cash register, and he was fleeing the store when he crashed into Jade who was running down the street. The man had shot her by accident.

The fresh snow on the roads caused the ambulance to take forever and a day to arrive, but some demon in Beck's gut told him that it wouldn't matter how quickly they got Jade to a hospital; her heart had already stopped beating when he had found her. But, she was taken to a hospital, where she was, as Beck predicted she would be, pronounced dead. As much as Beck wanted to stay with her and convince himself that she was just sleeping, he had to go home and explain to his mother and his daughter what had happened; it wouldn't be fair if they heard what happened from someone else. Though it broke his heart, he held onto his daughter tightly as she sobbed into his shirt, begging him to go bring mommy home. He would have stayed in that position, holding his daughter and pretending that Jade's death was some terrible nightmare, forever. But, the bell rang. And who was at the door but Beck's father, with his hands strung together and his head bowed.

"I was in the neighborhood, and I heard about what happened." His father walked past Beck and into the living room. Xia, who had been clutching at her grandmother's arms in Beck's absence, quickly buried her face into her grandmother's skirts after seeing her grandfather. His dad knelt down to poke her in the back.

"What's wrong, sport? Aren't you happy to see your old man?" Xia cried harder.

"Don't touch her." His father turned, surprised by the ice in Beck's tone. He straightened up.

"I came to say that I am truly sorry for your loss." Beck examined his father carefully. His posture showed that of a man in sorrow. But Beck looked past that, he looked into the man's eyes, which were the same brown orbs that had been passed on to him. And Beck found mirth. It was undeniable. ...the bastard was happy that Jade had died. Beck had wanted nothing more than to take the man by the neck and shake him until he bled. He wanted to kill him for lying, for not keeping his word, but most of all for causing him to doubt the woman who he loved with all his heart. But, he restrained himself. He felt that his daughter had already heard enough for one day. To ensure he wouldn't try anything, he stepped over to his mother and took Xia into his arms, rubbing her back gently as he cradled her.

"...Touched by the sentiment. Now leave." His father's previous expression remained frozen on his face, but when he realized that Beck was serious, he quickly became angry.

" You want me to go?"

"It's not a 'want'. ...anyway, I believe my wife did evict you last night. And as you can see, I am in no position to argue with her decisions. ...technically speaking, since she died so suddenly, keeping you out of the house was her last wish. And I wouldn't want to decline the last wish of a woman who was murdered." As he spoke, he quickly shoved his father out the door, finally slamming it in his face as soon as he had stepped outside the foyer. Xia smiled for the first time that day.

A few days later, Beck called up one of the overly-cheerful doctors they had visited a lifetime ago. Soon, he had the results of the fertility tests that both he and Jade had taken years ago. Beck barley glanced at the results before tracking down his father's whereabouts and mailing the results to him. Beck's suspicions had been confirmed; he was the one with the fertility problem, not Jade. She had never been "barren".

...Beck was able to muse about all this with his daughter's snoring as a background. He cast a depressed eye over their surroundings, taking in the Christmas tree sans working Christmas lights, his daughter's giant card bearing his wife's image propped up in front of the tree, and the rest of the dark living room, which, though cold, was still the warmest room in the apartment. He rolled up his sleeve to look at his digital watch; it was five minutes to midnight.

...Time was a funny thing. In high school, ten seconds had caused his greatest relationship to end. Years later, and the same thing had happened, the only difference being that the time period had been just a bit longer, and the effects much more permanent and damaging. ...Beck was sure that if he had opened the door and gone after Jade just a few seconds earlier, he would have been able to catch her before she got anywhere near the convenience store. Then he would have dragged her home and calmed her down, and they would have worked things out (because fighting, making up, and Beck&Jade all went hand-in-hand). Though he hadn't been the one to pull the trigger, Beck knew that he had played a pivotal role in Jade's death. If he had listened to her, if he had believed her, if he had opened the door sooner...there were so many things he could have done that would have prevented Jade from having a run-in with a gunman. In Beck's mind, he had indirectly murdered the love of his life. Though difficult for him to think about, it became accepted fact. Because time went on. And the longer he lived knowing that his wife was six feet under, the more warped his perspective of Jade's death became. In the first days after Jade's death, Beck always wondered about the identity of the man who had shot the gun. A year later, and he couldn't picture the shooter with a face that wasn't his own.

Beck's hand unconsciously curled into a fist as he thought about the state that Jade had been in during her last moments: bleeding, her eyes frightened, her skin cold and wet from the snow...as anger filled him, he completely forgot that he was holding a sleeping Xia. She had been quite comfortable in his arms, but when she felt him tense up, she slowly woke only to see her father glaring at something in the distance in their dark room. She reached up and gave his hair a hard tug, something that she had seen her mother do a lifetime ago. It took him a few moments, but he eventually looked down at the wool pile in his arms to meet his daughter's questioning eyes.

"What's wrong, daddy?"Beck stumbled, but then decided to just be honest with her. Xia had somehow inherited Jade's ability to sniff out liars, anyway. He playfully mussed up her hat and hair.

"I'm just thinking about mommy."

"Do you miss her?" Beck chuckled.

"All the time. But don't worry about it, baby. Go back to sleep." Xia pouted, then sat up and hugged her father. He could hear nothing but innocence in her voice.

"It's okay daddy, I miss mommy too!" She released him, then paused before thwacking his nose.

"Ow! Why did you do that?"

"Because you have to go to sleep! We have to get up early on Christmas! ...goodnight!" She quickly laid down, and within minutes, she was snoring. Beck had to smile. Christmas was the only day in the year that his daughter actually wanted to get out of bed in the morning. After a few minutes, Beck was asleep as well. Neither of them had noticed the lady standing in the corner of the room, her eyes sad and filled with longing as she looked at the pair. She slowly walked over to Beck and sat beside him on the couch. She moved close, ghosting one hand on his cheek so she could take a good look at him. Even while sleeping, he looked exhausted. She knew it wasn't just from the strains of being a single parent...he looked defeated. Her heart clenched, and she quickly kissed his forehead. Her eyes then moved to the little girl sitting in his lap, and she nearly began bawling. She wanted nothing more than to hold her. She could feel her hands reaching out to take the child into her arms. But, she restrained herself. She knew that if she did hold her, she would never let her go. Jade drew her hands to her sides and stepped away from her husband and child. She had little time, and many tasks to complete. She rolled up her sleeves and set to work.

* * *

Beck was woken up quite violently; his daughter had taken to smacking him repeatedly with a couch pillow.

"Daddy, you need to wake up! Santa came...and he brought the lights back!" Beck groaned, more than a bit confused by what his daughter was saying. But when he opened his eyes, he saw that she wasn't joking, the power had come back on. He could hear the purr of the heater, and the Christmas tree lights had turned on. But he'd had very little time to take in the Christmas miracle, his daughter was begging to see what Santa had brought her. Beck kept his mouth shut as his daughter dragged him to the tree; he didn't think it was necessary for her to know who had _really_ spent an eternity figuring out the mystery that was gift-wrapping. He was happy that his daughter loved what she had gotten, but he was touched to see that she had made him a present as well. She had drawn a charcoal sketch of himself, Jade, Andre, and Tori in high school, both pairs cuddling under a mistletoe. The picture had been scarily accurate, considering that he never remembered showing Xia any pictures from the good ol' days. But, Beck really shouldn't have expected less from the little prodigy. Beck was about to begin cleaning up the wrapping paper when his daughter stopped him.

"There's more stuff under the tree." Beck was confused when Xia pulled out two presents tied with black bows, one for Beck and one for her. Xia's had a large envelope attached to it. She set the envelope to one side, and opened the present. Inside was an abundance of art supplies: charcoal, pens, the works. His daughter squealed as she ran her hands over all the tools in the box. Beck opened the envelope and felt his fingers grab a picture frame. He pulled it out of the envelope, and he saw that it was a gorgeous painting of himself and Jade sitting before a Christmas tree with a baby Xia in their arms. Beck smiled fondly at the painting; it was of Xia's first Christmas in the Oliver household. But his fondness soon turned to confusion; who had left the painting and presents? He looked at his daughter, who was still messing with her new art supplies.

"Xia...did you make this?" She glanced at the painting, then went back to testing her new pens.

"No, daddy. Mommy did." His eyebrows knitted together.

"Okay...and what makes you so sure mommy left it?" Xia laughed, sometimes daddy was really stupid.

"Because the card that I made for her is gone. I guess she wanted to make something for me too! I drew Mommy, she drew us. Look, she put a dove in just like I did!" Beck looked at the painting closely, and he did find a tiny dove sitting on his shoulder, looking at the baby like he and Jade were. Beck was nervous, but quite hopeful. He turned the frame over, opened the back, and slowly pulled out the painting. He scanned the back of the painting until he found what he was looking for, the name _Jade Oliver_ written in messy cursive, the same name that she used to sign every single thing she created after marriage, from scripts to sketches. When he looked at the wrapping paper on his present to find an identical signature along with a, 'Merry Christmas!', he nearly squealed. So...his wife really _had_ come to visit. When he realized this, he felt like dancing. She had been _there_, in the very same _room_ as them. She had _come._ Ignoring the remaining present, he quickly kissed his daughter on the head and told her to be good and not open the door to any strangers; he'd be back shortly. Once he had locked the door securely behind him, he made a mad dash for the stairwell, smiling the entire way. He tried to rationalize that he only wanted to go outside to see if the rest of the street had gotten its power back. But inside he knew the truth; all he wanted was to see if Jade was still around.

When he got outside, he was surprised to see that his apartment building seemed to be the only one that had gotten power back. But, the thought left his mind as quickly as it came; all he needed was to find Jade. He looked around and checked the alleyways, but Jade wasn't anywhere near the building. He looked and felt dejected; it was early in the morning, and the street was dead. The taxis hadn't even started their rounds. Realizing he should probably wipe the disappointed look off his face before seeing Xia, he decided to take a walk. He walked until he eventually reached the street corner, where he saw a young woman in a white coat and boots leaning against a stop sign impatiently tapping her foot, her eyes scanning up and down the street as she tapped. Beck could feel his hope returning, but knew he had to exercise caution; New York women could be dangerous if provoked. He slowly walked to her, and was about to reach to tap her shoulder when she turned around. It was Jade. She was about ten shades paler than usual, and her eyes were a hard steel in color rather than their usual blue, but it was Jade. She got excited for a moment, but then her smile faded and she resumed scanning the street. Beck felt wounded.

"You...you already broke into the house; what's the point in ignoring me now?!" Jade immediately faced him, her face contorted with shock.

"_YOU CAN SEE ME?!"_ Beck nodded.

"That's...that's not normal." Beck threw his hands up in exasperation; he wanted to talk, and all she could tell him was that he shouldn't be able to see her.

"SINCE WHEN HAVE WE EVER BEEN NORMAL?!" Beck starred at her, and her shock was soon replaced with a smile. She looked like she was restraining herself from laughing. She stepped to him and knotted her fingers in his hair, giving him a soft kiss. He drew her closer, reveling in the taste of coffee and vanilla that he had missed oh, so much. When they broke apart, she buried her head into his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck. He was more than content to hold her. She giggled softly, and Beck had to wonder if he was going to see a pig fly.

"Never in all my life or afterlife have I been happier that I married such a weirdo." He ran his fingers through her hair, bending down to place soft kisses on her ear and head. Still holding her, his hands began to tremble.

"Jade, I'm sor-"

"Shut up."

"What? I need to tell you-"

"I said shut up. I only have a few minutes left, and I don't need you to waste that time apologizing."

"But Jade-"

"Just say you love me."

"You-" She cupped his cheek in her hand, looking into his eyes.

"Tell me. I think I should hear it before I go, don't you?" Beck was amazed. He wanted nothing more than to grovel, and she wanted an affirmation. ...Love was weird. He stood quietly for a few moments, just memorizing every detail of her face, and then pulled her close, placing a kiss onto her forehead before meeting her lips again. They eventually broke apart and he took her by the shoulders.

"Jade Oliver, I love you. And I always will. Simple as that." They were about to kiss again when Beck heard a honk from behind him. He turned to see something unusual; a purely white taxi cab, with not a speck of paint or an advertisement adorning it. He took notice of the beautiful wreath attached to the front of the car...and the golden glow that seemed to be pulsing from the cab driver. Jade frowned and stepped away from Beck.

"Looks like my ride's here." He grabbed her hand before she opened the cab door.

"Don't I get an 'I love you' to remember you by?" Jade took his hand and placed a bittersweet kiss on his knuckles.

"Trust me when I say this: if I didn't love you and Xia as much as I do, I couldn't have come here." Jade nodded at the cab driver.

"Mr. I'm-such-a-badass-because-I-got-a-halo would have kept me from coming."

"Halo? You mean he's an an-" Jade smacked him.

"Don't say it!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "...he's really shy." The driver scoffed. Jade got into the cab, but before she could drive off, Beck tapped on the glass. Jade rolled down the window and Beck bent down to talk to her.

"Will me and Xia see you next Christmas?" Jade's lips curled into a smirk. She winked.

"We'll see." The driver gasped.

"Young lady, that is not protocol! Do you have any idea what things I had to do to convince the boss-man to let you come back once? AND NOW YOU WANT TO DO IT AGAIN?!" As the car pulled away, Beck could still hear the angel screaming.

"IF I KEEP HAVING TO DEAL WITH YOU, I'M GOING TO BE DEMOTED TO CHANGING THE LITTER BOXES OF ALL THE DEAD CAT-"

"WOULD YOU PIPE DOWN?! I SWEAR THAT PIECE OF JUNK FLOATING OVER YOUR HEAD IS GOING TO JUST COME ROLLING OFF!"

"HOW DARE YOU, MY HALO IS A WORK OF ART!"

"A WORK OF ART THAT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO RIP OFF YOUR HEAD, NOW-" Beck listened to them argue and watched the cab until it was out of sight. Even after, he stood at the corner for a few moments, then finally just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. She had left, but at least he had been able to give her a proper goodbye this time. She was gone.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and started to walk home, trying to figure out the best way to tell his daughter and friends the story of how he had watched Jade Oliver fight with an angel. He wasn't sure he would describe every detail just right, but he knew it'd be fun. He would be sure to call up his mother and tell her too. Maybe he'd tell his father as well, if he could prove he had grown up a bit.

Jade was gone for now, but Beck was sure she'd be checking in every now and again. He had one of those gut feelings...call it a husband's intuition.

It began snowing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Kyla, I hope you enjoyed it! Happy New Year everyone! :)


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